1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a fixation splint, and more particularly to an innovative splint with an adjustable structure for medical treatment and health care.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
As for drop foot, Achilles tendonitis, heel pain, plantar fasciitis or lower extremity overuse injuries patients, there are similar rehabilitation products available in the market for patients suffering from the foregoing conditions. At present, current rehabilitation products are based on general size of a universal foot. One method of one injection mold is made for a splint.
As each patient has a foot with a particular bone size, the current single size splint cannot meet the needs of injured patients for necessary adjustments. Therefore, the prior art splint is not completely suitable for each individual patient.
Furthermore, during nighttime application, the injured patients will turn the body over unconsciously, exposing risk and creating vulnerability to oppression or arching, causing secondary injury when sleeping. The secondary injury causes delay of rehabilitation.
To this end, a fixation splint 10 is developed for the benefit of patients during sleeping. As shown in FIG. 1, a predefined bending plate is shown, where a first and second retaining device 11, 12 is separately defined on the front and rear part for fixing the foot bones and sole. A long groove 13 for threading a bandage is preset onto the first and second retaining device 11, 12, so that the bandage could be used to fix securely the fixation splint 10 onto the injury point. However, shortcomings are observed during actual applications.
The fixation splint 10 is often fabricated by means of ejection molding, and the plate is bent to a fixed angle. When the fixation splint 10 is retained on the feet of the patient, the feet are forcibly adapted to the bent angle. Owing to different forms and bending angle of the feet, the fixation splint 10 cannot be adjusted flexibly to meet the demands of individual patients, possibly leading to greater damage and extended recovery time.
Furthermore, the typical fixation splint 10 is made of plastic materials of a certain thickness. So, brittle rupture for such fixation splint 10 may likely occur, leading to excessive waste of materials.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.